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Enough Procrastinating – It's Tax Deadline Day

By Lynne Adkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Today is April 17th -- tax deadline day.

The 15th was a Sunday and yesterday was a holiday in the nation's capital (Emancipation Day), so your federal tax return must be postmarked by midnight tonight.

If you waited until the last minute, IRS Spokesman, David Stewart says, you're not alone. "There's about 25 percent of the population that waits until the last two weeks before the filing deadline. Part of it is procrastination, part of it is the 'ugh' factor."

Stewart says if you just cannot make it, file for an extension. "Even though you're filing for an extension, you still have to pay what you owe. You say, how the heck do I do that? We'll pull out last year's return if things are similar and pay what you did last year."

As the hours tick away, he says many filers rush and make mistakes. "During crunch time, people do make a lot of mistakes. Perhaps, maybe people filing married, joint returns and both signatures need to be on there, but one is missing. If it's a paper form, most times there are math errors."

Don't forget: state tax forms are also due today.

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